A new type of comet research mission-Sciencetimes

Humanity beautiful On the comet Obsessed Reason

The comet that flutters its long and beautiful tail in the night sky and flutters us is no longer an astronomical mystery object. Comets are about several kilometers to tens of kilometers in size and consist of a nucleus, a coma, and two mysterious tails: the Ione tail and the Dust tail.

The comets’ hometown is thought to be the Oort cloud. According to the hypothesis of Dutch astronomer Jan Hendrik Oort, the above clouds surrounding the solar system are believed to be the origin of long-period comets. The clouds above are composed of interstellar dust, the main components of which are hydrogen and helium. There are numerous comet nuclei in the cloud, and for some reason, it is influenced by an external star or a gas cloud, heading towards the sun, starting a long journey around the solar system. Also, the Kuiper belt, the second and outer debris disk of the solar system that exists outside Neptune’s orbit, is known as the origin of short-period comets. Due to the low temperature of the Kuiper Belt, numerous celestial bodies with ice cores exist.

Since comets are born in cold places, volatile substances such as ice, silicates, and organic matter form the comet’s core. These are basically lumps and are sometimes called dirty snowballs. Comets are basically very dark creatures like this, but when they come close to the sun, they receive hot solar heat, and gases and dust around the comet and in the atmosphere are reflected by the sun’s light. This makes it look like a huge, beautiful mass.

The reason humanity is interested in comets is not just because it is beautiful. This is because mankind wants to know the history of the solar system through comets. The comet orbits a long, long orbit around the sun. Therefore, the comets that survived the rough evolution of the solar system because they are relatively less affected by sunlight are like time machines that will illuminate the history of the solar system. Through this, the answer to the origin of life will also be found. Also, since comets are made of primitive materials, they are well worth research and are also one of the celestial bodies that humanity can approach.

Giotto(Giotto) And Rosetta(Rosetta)of success

We have to wait for nearly 40 years to see comet Halley (1P/Halley), the most widely known and most famous comet to mankind again. Halley’s comet is a short-period comet that approaches Earth every about 75 to 76 years. Halley’s Comet, which has been passed by as many as six probes, including The International Cometary Explorer, is the first comet that humanity has dug in detail. In 1986, the Giotto probe approached Comet Halley only 600 km away in 1986, and through various explorations, it was found that the core of Comet Halley was smaller than expected, and that dust and ice particles were not densely packed and very irregular .

After the successful exploration of the Geoto probe, astronomers and engineers at the European Space Agency (ESA) thought that in order to learn more about the comet, we need to get closer to the comet. The Rosetta mission, launched to this end, led to the successful landing of the comet Tschurjumow-Gerasimenko (67P) by the Philae landing ship, one of the most impressive landing scenes in human history.

European Space Agency Various Branch Cosmic vision Missions

The European Space Agency’s cosmic vision missions are mainly divided into large and small missions depending on the size of the budget. There is one mission that doesn’t correspond to this: Fast mission (F-class mission). This literally means the fast implementation and progress of the mission, and it means a mission that takes less than 10 years from preparation to launch.

Dr. Günther Hasinger, the new director of the European Space Agency, selected the Comet interceptor as the protagonist of the first high-speed mission of Cosmic Vision in 2019, showing expectations that it will be a new type of mission. For reference, the European Space Agency selected Comet Interceptor as the final mission protagonist less than a year after the initial request for proposal was made to keep the philosophy of high-speed mission.

Comet Interceptor(Comet interceptor)only Characteristic

In the past, it took at least a few months to years to get to know a comet visiting the inner solar system for the first time, which is a fairly short time to plan, build, and prepare for a new mission. That is why comet interceptors are initiated. Interestingly, the comet interceptor’s destination has not been determined. This is because they will be waiting in space to meet a new comet at the right time. For reference, the comet interceptor is expected to perform missions for about five years after launch.

Also, if the Comet Interceptor Mission is different from other missions, the above mission is a mission aimed at a comet visiting the inner solar system for the first time. Therefore, the above mission will provide new insights into the comet’s evolution.

Comet Interceptor (Comet interceptor) mission

Dr. Hassinger explained that short-range spacecraft exploration is essential in order to better understand the diversity and evolution of comets as primitive comets are unknown. He added that we need to prepare for’the same interstellar celestial body’.

To accomplish this scientific goal, the comet interceptor is a pristine comet or a pristine comet where three spacecrafts and individual modules arrive at L2 of the Earth and Sun’s Sun-Earth Lagrange and are just beginning their journey into the solar system. Observing other interstellar objects. The three spacecrafts perform simultaneous observations around the comet from various directions, generate 3D profiles of new objects, and approach the comet that has not yet been discovered.

The three modules that make up the comet interceptor will each be equipped with payloads that are responsible for various studies of the comet’s core, gas, dust and plasma environments. Simultaneous exploration of three modules can be of great help in understanding the dynamic properties of a primitive comet in response to an ever-changing solar wind environment. Comet Interceptor is expected to effectively utilize the legacy and technology of the European Space Agency’s senior mission. It will use the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter’s camera, dust and plasma analyzer, and the Rosetta Mission’s mass spectrometer.

The comet interceptor is scheduled to depart from Earth in 2028, and is planning to launch simultaneously with the Ariel probe, which focuses only on the atmosphere of alien planets. Both missions will arrive at Lagrange Point L2, and comet Interceptors will use their own propulsion system to further travel towards new targets.

Recent advances in science and technology allow deeper scans of dark skies and more predictable presence of comets. For example, Catalina Sky Survey or Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) will enable the discovery of new comets, asteroids, variable stars, and supernovae, which will increase the list of new comets. With the above astronomical observations and studies, the comet interceptor will soon find its ideal destination. This is why the comet interceptor mission is expected.

(12)